Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger warned it was "now or never" for captain Tony Adams to play an integral role in his side's bid for the domestic double as he prepared to recall him against Newcastle.

Adams is set to provide a psychological lift in the wake of Arsenal's Champions League exit with his comeback in today's FA Cup quarter-final replay for only his seventh start of an injury-ravaged season. And Ashley Cole is also expected to return to the starting line-up after a knee injury, even if Wenger has warned he will probably not be ready for England duty next week.

The last time Adams returned after a foot problem in the FA Cup fifth round against Gillingham last month, though, he suffered a setback.

Wenger knows a similar recurrence could rule the 35-year-old defender out for the rest of the season, when he will reconsider his stated plans to retire. But this is a game which the Arsenal boss cannot afford to lose and he has to muster all the defensive experience he can to face another former England captain, Alan Shearer.

It is therefore very much a defining moment not only in Arsenal's season, but also in what is still left of Adams' career.

Wenger has told Adams he needs him to face Newcastle at Highbury today as Arsenal look to bounce back from their midweek defeat at Juventus. The Arsenal boss said: "Tony has a chance to play. We have got him through some hard training sessions so we will see.

"We have many centre-backs and they have all done well. If we want to give him a chance to come back then it is now or never. Physically he is ready but he has just missed games. He has played the first five games in the championship and then against Gillingham. But with all respect to them, they are Gillingham."

Now up against Newcastle, Arsenal are determined not to allow their season to slip away after promising to achieve so much.

"We will respond well and going out of Europe gives us a better chance to win the championship and the FA Cup," added Wenger.

"Our fixtures would have been nearly impossible. That doesn't mean we didn't want to go through but getting over the disappointment will help us have a better chance to win the double."